&w=3840&q=100)
F-1 visa denied? Hacks Indian students need to crack the US student visa
But why?
Her application was refused under Section 214(b) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), explained Pushkar Kumar, founder of Bluehawks EduAbrod.
'When a student receives an F-1 visa refusal, it's more than just a stamp of rejection—it's the shattering of a dream,' said Kumar. And that heartbreak is becoming more common. The F-1 visa rejection rate has increased by approximately 20 per cent in 2025, following an already steep 40 per cent in 2024.
What is Section 214(b)?
"Section 214(b) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act presumes every applicant for a non-immigrant visa to be an intending immigrant unless they can demonstrate otherwise," said Ketan Mukhija, senior partner at Burgeon Law.
Applicants must prove strong ties to their home country and an intention to return after their temporary stay. F-1 visa refusals under this provision typically result from failure to convince the consular officer of non-immigrant intent, insufficient financial proof, weak ties to the home country, or inconsistencies during the interview.
What might have gone wrong for Ruhi?
According to Kumar, potential reasons for Ruhi's rejection include:
> Applying to a university with a high concentration of applicants from her region
> Giving generic answers during her interview
> Failing to clearly link her academic plans to her future career
'This shows that even deserving students can be denied if they fail to stand out or show clarity of purpose,' Kumar added.
Sanjog Anand, co-founder of Rostrum Education, said students must prove three key things during their visa process:
1. Strong ties to their home country—shown through residence, family connections, or property
2. Sufficient financial resources to fund their US stay
3. A clear academic purpose, supported by a valid I-20 form from the admitting university
What can lead to F-1 visa rejection under 214(b)?
Common reasons include:
* Lack of evidence showing intent to return home
* Unconvincing or unclear academic and career plans
* Inadequate funds or weak documentation
* Poor interview performance or conflicting responses
Rejection rates rising
More Indian students are feeling the heat. According to Kumar, the F-1 visa rejection rate for Indian applicants has climbed by about 20 per cent in 2025.
The US denied 41 per cent of all F-1 visa applications in fiscal year 2023–24, the highest rate in a decade. Of the 6.79 lakh applications received, 2.79 lakh were refused, up from 36 per cent the year before.
India sent over 3.31 lakh students to the US in 2023–24, but many are now facing growing hurdles in securing visas.
Why are rejections happening more frequently?
Students and experts point to several causes:
* Applying to 'over-targeted' universities
* Rehearsed, repetitive or vague responses
* Too many students from the same city or region applying to the same institution
* Poor articulation of goals or programme choice
* Weak communication skills
* Failing to distinguish themselves during interviews
'US consular officers are now more cautious with applicants heading to over-targeted universities. They scrutinise DS-160 forms and look for alignment with interview answers. Often, decisions are made quickly based on first impressions and communication quality,' said Kumar.
How to avoid rejection
To improve their chances, Anand advises students to:
* Be clear about why they've chosen a specific course and university
* Demonstrate financial readiness with proper documentation
* Prove strong ties to home—through family, property, or job prospects
* Be honest, well-prepared, and confident in their interview
Preparing for success
According to Anand, students should:
* Research their course, university, and how it fits into long-term plans
* Practise answers to typical visa interview questions
* Keep all documents ready: I-20, bank statements, transcripts
* Avoid over-preparation or rote answers—authenticity matters
When to apply
For the Fall intake (August), students should apply between August and December of their final school year. Preparation ideally starts 12–18 months in advance. Standardised tests like the SAT, ACT, TOEFL or IELTS, and university applications should be completed by December or January.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
12 minutes ago
- Mint
'India's freedom of speech regulated by Israel?': Congress questions after envoy Reuven Azar ‘targets' Priyanka Gandhi
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on Israel Ambassador Reuven Azar after his criticism of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had accused Tel Aviv of 'genocide' and criticising the Indian government for its 'silence' on the matter. In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Khera slammed Reuven Azar, stating that him 'targeting' a sitting Member of the Indian Parliament is 'both unprecedented and intolerable.' The Congress leader further tagged S Jaishankar, questioning if 'freedom of speech in India' had now 'begun to be regulated from Israel." Following Priyanka Gandhi's post on X, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar accused the Congress leader of spreading 'deceit' and presented Israel's version of the conflict's toll. 'What is shameful is your deceit. Israel killed 25,000 Hamas terrorists. The terrible cost in human lives derives from Hamas's heinous tactics of hiding behind civilians, their shooting of people trying to evacuate or receive assistance and their rocket fire,' Azar said in his post. The Israeli diplomat's post comes after Priyanka Gandhi alleged that Israel 'murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children', starved hundreds to death, and was threatening to starve millions more. 'Enabling these crimes by silence and inaction is a crime in itself. It is shameful that the Indian Government stands silent as Israel unleashes this devastation on the people of Palestine,' she wroteon X, on Tuesday. Apart from Pawan Khera, Congress's Gaurav Gogoi also hit out at the Israeli ambassador, stating that the 'Parliament cannot remain a passive spectator.' "The disparaging comments made by a foreign Ambassador against a Member of Parliament of India is a serious breach of privilege. Even if the Union Government is silent, the Parliament cannot remain a passive spectator..." he said on X. Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma also strongly condemned the remarks of the Israeli Ambassador to India, "denying" the humanitarian crisis of Gaza, saying that the language used by the Israeli representative and "undiplomatic, distasteful and unacceptable," while the brutality, destruction of schools, hospitals and mass starvation is taking place. As Israel continues its bombardment, the IDF said it has approved the "framework" for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City, reported AFP. On Tuesday, Gaza's Health Ministry reported that five more Palestinians have died from hunger, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths to 227, including 103 children.
Mint
12 minutes ago
- Mint
Nifty Pharma index rises 1.9%: Alkem, Zydus among key gainers: Should you buy or sell pharma stocks?
Stock Market Today: The Nifty Pharma index gained 1.9% during the intraday trades on Wednesday. Alkem and Zydus stood among key gainers that led the rally The Nifty Pharma Index gained almost 2% during the intraday trade on Wednesday amid a relief rally in the Indian stock market. The Nifty Pharma Index opened at 21,803.45 levels, higher than the previous day's closing price of 21,753.50. It continued to gain further to an intraday high of 22,171.05, which meant gains of almost 2% over the previous day's close. Alkem Laboratories, Zydus Lifesciences, Laurus Labs, and Abbott India were among the key gainers that led to the rise in the Nifty Pharma pack. The US market remains critical for many Indian pharma companies. Sun Pharmaceuticals, Lupin , Dr. Reddy's, Aurobindo, Cipla, and many more derive a significant part of revenues from the US markets. Thus the danger of a 50% tax on pharmaceuticals looms, and this clearly poses a risk to the profitability of Indian pharmaceutical businesses, which rely on the US market for 30-50% of their sales. Most of these US revenues, however, come from the generic drug segment. Silver lining The silver lining remains as India remains cost-competitive compared to both the US and global peers, which should help mitigate some risks, said Ajit Banerjee, president and chief investment officer at Shriram Life Insurance. The domestic Indian pharma market (50% of the Indian pharmaceutical market) will remain unaffected by tariffs. Within the US, the impact on the generic formulations market is still uncertain, though Indian players already operate on thin margins. Tariffs could increase the drug shortages by eliminating competition in a market where pricing pressures are already intense, which could be a positive for Indian companies over the mid- to long-term, highlighted Banerjee While the recent executive order by the US Administration excludes the pharmaceutical sector from immediate tariff imposition. Any tariff action will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Even if the India pharma tariff question is answered, Kotak Institutional expect the uncertainty to persist around whether the anticipated pharma tariffs (post the Section 232 investigation) would add to the country-specific one, definition of pharma/pharma products and then eventually how much of the tariffs are passed on and rolled back Bannerjee believes the US can either bring manufacturing back home or reduce drug prices, but not both simultaneously. Even before tariffs are finalized, the uncertainty can lead to delays in order commitments and impact sector sentiment and stock price thereby. The sector currently trades at a 1Y forward P/E of 29.7 times, above its 10-year average of 26.7x. We see tariff-induced volatility as a chance for investors to accumulate quality pharma stocks on dips, said Banerjee. Nifty Pharma has witnessed two weeks of selling pressure, especially after the recent U.S. tariff developments, as per analysts. The Pharma Index was trading near a support level on the daily time frame, where a pause in the decline was expected in the coming days, potentially leading the index towards 21,998. The outlook remains negative as long as the index fails to sustain above 22,380. On the downside, a break below 21,240 could push the index further towards the 20,380–20,140 zone, as per Kunal Kamble, Sr. Technical Research Analyst at Bonanza * Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Mint
12 minutes ago
- Mint
Bulls ride high on India stocks, expecting success of US-Russia talks on Ukraine
Bulls appeared to be taking charge of the stock markets on Wednesday, ahead of the Trump-Putin talks, where a breakthrough or an impasse could significantly impact Indian equities. The two leaders are slated to meet in Alaska on Friday in a bid to end the over-three year Ukraine war. A day after foreign portfolio investors trimmed their index future longs to 7.95%, only 20 basis points shy of the record low of 7.75% on 22 March 2023, in light of the US Fed rate tightening cycle, bulls sold huge quantities of put options between the 24,500 and 24,600 levels, expecting a rally in the markets ahead of the talks. The contracts expire tomorrow. The Nifty 50 traded 0.6% higher at 24,634 at 1 pm. Amid likely domestic institutional investor buying in the cash market, bulls sold a massive number of puts at 24,600 – the open position at this strike rose by a whopping 227,758 contracts to a total 284,785 contracts. At 24,550, the open or outstanding positions jumped 148,077 contracts to 193,635 contracts and at 24,500 by 152,528 contracts to 260,034 contracts. The jump in open positions at these levels indicates that bulls expect the markets to close at or above 24,600, which will enable them to pocket the premium paid by the put buyers, who expect the markets to correct. "The correction premise (of put buyers) is based on the talks stalling and a continuation of the war, which could impact countries like India that buy Russian oil and have been slapped with a proposed punitive tariff of 25% from 27 August," explained SK Joshi, a consultant with Khambatta Securities. Other analysts cautioned that it was too early to take such calls because the Indian markets would react to the outcome of the talks only on Monday, with Friday a holiday for Independence Day. "The market is likely to consolidate in a 24,400-24,700 range ahead of the Russia-US talks in Alaska," said Sahaj Agrawal, head of derivatives research at Kotak Securities. "The reaction to the outcome will be on Monday." Options data and sentiment for now also suggest a sideways movement, with no major horizon shift on the cards, he added. The put-call ratio of the weekly options expiring on Thursday stood at 0.99 intraday, which means that for every 100 calls sold, traders had sold 99 puts. On Tuesday, the ratio stood at 0.65, or only 65 puts sold for 100 calls sold. Time correction The benchmark Nifty 50 has been in a time correction for 11 months now, which is longer than the nine-month time correction that followed the outbreak of the covid pandemic in 2020. Time correction implies an extended period of stagnant to marginally lower price movement. The Nifty has fallen 6.25% from a record high of 26,277.35 on 27 September last year to Wednesday's intraday level of 24,634. While the Nasdaq, the UK's FTSE and Japan's Nikkei trade at record highs, Indian stock indices haven't been able to reclaim their previous high even 11 months later. In the last major down-cycle, the Nifty fell 40% from a high of 12,430 on 20 January 2020 to 7,511.10 on 24 March that year when the pandemic surfaced. However, it reclaimed the high in nine months, closing at 12,632 by 9 November. The current time correction is due to tepid earnings growth and more lately because of Trump's crushing tariffs on India, which Moody's expects could trim its current fiscal growth estimate by 30 bps to 6%. "We have been in a time correction for nearly 11 months now and will have to see how the geopolitical events play out to reckon whether we will break through the 26,277.35 record high of last September or test the multi-month low of 21,743.65 of this April," Kotak Securities' Agrawal added.
